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Overview
Both the HIPAA Privacy Rule and New Jersey law give you rights to your medical record. The HIPAA Privacy Rule sets standards that apply to records held by health care providers across the nation. New Jersey law sets standards for records held by health care providers within the state. If a standard is different under the HIPAA Privacy Rule than it is under New Jersey law, your health care provider must follow the law that is the most protective of your rights.
Summary of Your Rights
In New Jersey you have the right to:
- See and get a copy of your medical record.
Your health care provider usually must let you see your medical record or give you a copy of it within 30 days of receiving your request.
Your health care provider is allowed to charge you for copies of your medical record. They can also charge you for postage.
- Correct your medical record by adding information to it.
You have the right to correct your medical record by having information added to your record to make it more complete or accurate. This is called the right to amend your record.
- File a complaint.
You have the right to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your health care provider has violated your right to see, get a copy of, or amend your medical record. You can also file a complaint with the state agency that regulates your health care provider.
- You have the right to sue in state court if your health care provider violates your rights under New Jersey law.
You have the right to sue in state court if your health care provider violates New Jersey laws on seeing and getting a copy of your medical record.
You can learn more about these rights in the following sections of this guide.
 Who Has to Follow These Laws?
Most New Jersey health care providers (such as doctors and hospitals) must follow both the HIPAA Privacy Rule and state laws that give patients rights in their medical records.
There are some health care providers, however, that do not have to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The HIPAA Privacy Rule only covers health care providers that use computer technology to send health information for certain administrative or financial purposes (such as filing claims for insurance).
Sometimes Ashley goes to a doctor at a free clinic for medical treatment. The doctor does not accept private insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare. The doctor does not file any insurance claims. Ashley’s doctor probably does not have to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule. This is because the doctor does not appear to send health information for the types of administrative or financial purposes that would make her a covered health care provider under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
If you have questions about whether your health care provider must follow the federal HIPAA Privacy Rule, you can contact the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OCR), the agency that is in charge of enforcing the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Section 4 of this guide lists contact information for OCR.
What happens if my provider does not have to follow HIPAA?
Even if your provider does not have to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule, they still have to follow New Jersey laws that give you rights to your medical record. Section 6 lists some resources that summarize these state laws.
This guide, however, only explains getting your medical record from New Jersey providers who have to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule and state law.
 What Records Do I Have the Right to Get and Amend?
You have the right to see and get a copy of your medical record. You also have the right to correct your medical record by having information added to it to make it more complete or accurate. This right is called the right to amend your record. (This guide will call these rights the right to “get and amend.")
Your medical record includes such things as:
- Information that identifies you, such as your name and Social Security number.
- Information that you tell your doctor or health care provider, such as:
- Your medical history.
- How you feel at the time of your visit.
- Your family health history.
- The results of your examination.
- Test results.
- Treatment received in a hospital.
- X-rays, records made by heart monitors, and similar items.
- Medicine prescribed.
- Other information about things that can affect your health or health care.
Who owns my medical record?
Under New Jersey law, your health care provider owns the actual medical record. This means, for example, that if your provider maintains paper medical records, they own and have the right to keep the original record. You only have the right to see and get a copy of it.
My health care provider makes personal notes about patients. Do I have a right to get these notes?
Probably. You have the right to see a provider’s personal notes about you if the notes are used to make decisions about you.
Michael’s doctor writes notes about her personal impressions of patients in their medical records. She uses these notes to help her treat her patients. For example, she wrote a note in Michael’s file that says that she suspects that Michael is exaggerating his complaints about his health and that his problems are “all in his head.” If Michael requests his entire medical record, the doctor must let him see and get a copy of this note.
My health care provider collected information about me because they think I might sue them. Do I have the right to get this information?
Not under these particular laws. You do not have the right under the HIPAA Privacy Rule to get information about you that has been gathered for potential use in a law suit or similar proceeding. There are special rules for getting information in law suits.
Roberto complained to his hospital that he was very unhappy with his treatment. Believing that Roberto is going to sue, the hospital lawyer interviews doctors and nurses involved with Roberto’s case to get their version of what happened. Roberto requests a copy of all medical information that the hospital has about his treatment. The hospital must give Roberto a copy of his medical record, including test results and entries made while Roberto was in the hospital. However, the hospital does not have to give Roberto a copy of the interview notes they took for potential use in the lawsuit.
Do I have the right to get and amend records about my mental health treatment? Maybe. The rules for when you can get and amend your records about mental health treatment can be different. For example, psychotherapy notes are treated differently than other records under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Because the rules for mental health records can be different they are not discussed in this guide. You can find some resources about your rights in these types of records in Section 6.
Who Has the Right to Get and Amend My Medical Record?
You have the right to see and get a copy of medical records that are about you. You also have the right to correct medical records that are about you by having information added to them. (This guide calls these rights the right to “get and amend” your medical record.) If there is someone who acts as your personal representative, they usually have the right to get and amend your record on your behalf. Generally, a personal representative is a person who has the right to make health care decisions on your behalf.
 Do I have the right to get and amend my minor child’s medical records?
Usually, yes. As a parent or guardian, you are generally considered to be the personal representative of your minor child. As a personal representative, you generally have the right to get and amend your child’s medical record. In New Jersey, parents have these rights when a child is younger than 18 years old.
As a parent, do I always have the right to get and amend my child’s medical record?
No. A parent does not always have the right of access to a minor child’s medical record. For example, when a provider reasonably believes that a parent is abusing or neglecting a child, the provider does not have to treat the parent as the personal representative of the child. The provider does not have to give the parent access to the child’s medical record.
Some other situations where parents do not have the right of access to their child’s medical records are discussed in the following questions and answers.
Who has the right to get and amend my child’s medical record once she turns 18?
Once your child turns 18, she has the right to get and amend her own medical record. This includes the right to get records that were created when she was younger. You usually no longer have the right to get and amend your child’s medical record just because you are her parent.
I am under 18 but I am emancipated under New Jersey law. Who has the right to get and amend my medical record?
You do. If you are an emancipated minor under New Jersey law, you have the right to get and amend your own medical record. Your parents do not have the right to get and amend your medical records.
I am a minor. I’m not emancipated but I can legally consent to certain kinds of medical treatment without my parents’ permission. Who has the right to get and amend my records that are related to this treatment?
It depends. In New Jersey, even though you are a minor you can consent to certain types of medical treatment without the permission of your parents. For example, you can consent to treatment related to pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases without the permission of your parents. When you consent to such treatment, you have the right to get and amend your medical record related to this treatment. In New Jersey, your parents do not have the right to access information related to treatment for these conditions.
Example
Jason is 15 and is sexually active. Jason gives his permission to be tested for gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease. Jason’s mother later requests a copy of Jason’s medical record. Jason’s mother does not have the right to get the part of his medical record that is related to his test for gonorrhea.
The rules may be different when you, as a minor, obtain other sorts of treatment without parental consent.
If you have questions or concerns about whether your parent will have access to your medical information, you should talk to your health care provider.
I have a health care power of attorney for my mother. Do I have the right to get and amend her medical records?
Yes. If you have your mother’s health care power of attorney, you generally have the right to get and amend the part of her medical record that is relevant to making health care decisions on her behalf. You have these rights while the power of attorney is in effect.
Maria’s mother signed a health care power of attorney form. If Maria’s mother is not able to make decisions about her health care, this form gives Maria the power to make such decisions. Maria’s mother was in a bad accident and is not able to make decisions about her health care. Maria now has the right to make decisions on her mother’s behalf. She also has the right to get and amend medical records that are relevant to making these decisions. For example, Maria has the right to see the records about her mother’s current medical condition and treatment.
Maria is curious about the time her mother had a miscarriage. Maria wants to look at these old medical records. Maria does not have the right to get and amend these old medical records because the records have nothing to do with her mother’s current condition or treatment.
My father recently died. Do I have the right to get a copy of his medical record?
Maybe. The rules are different depending on whether you are requesting medical records from a hospital or a health care professional (such as a doctor).
You have the right to get a deceased person’s medical records from a New Jersey hospital if you are the deceased person’s legally authorized representative, such as their surviving spouse, immediate next of kin, or legal guardian.
You have the right to get a deceased person’s medical record from a health care professional (such as a doctor) in New Jersey, if you are the have the right to act on behalf of the deceased person or their estate. For example, if you are the personal representative of the estate you have the right to get the deceased person’s medical record.
 How Long Does My Provider Have to Keep My Medical Record?
New Jersey hospitals must keep your medical record at least 10 years after the date you were discharged or until you reach the age of 23, whichever is longer. Health care professionals (such as doctors) in New Jersey must keep medical records at least 7 years from the last time they enter information in your medical record. In practice, many health care providers keep their records longer.
You have a right to get and amend your medical record for as long as your health care provider has it.
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